(New Orleans – March 28, 2022) — $25,000 – that's the amount of money NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) was awarded this morning by the Special Olympics Louisiana Unified Champion Schools program. The funds will help support this year's 2nd Annual Dr. Rosalynne B. Dennis Fitness Challenge for students with exceptional needs.
"I'd like to thank Special Olympics Louisiana for continuing to support our mission on an even greater scale this year," said NOLA-PS Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. "This is an opportunity for our students to find joy in playing, connect with their peers, and learn about health and fitness."
NOLA-PS' Dr. Rosalynne B. Dennis Fitness Challenge promotes inclusion, healthy eating, and physical fitness. With these funds, the District will be able to provide awards to students who excel during the challenge, such as an XBox, Fitbits, fitness equipment, healthy snacks, teacher incentives, student technology scholarships, and a few lucky schools will win a sponsored field day and/or equipment to build a sensory room.
In addition, District schools previously received another $27,000 for a total of $52,000 from Special Olympics Louisiana to provide to students with exceptional needs.
"We are proud to support the Dr. Rosalynne B. Dennis Fitness Challenge with NOLA Public Schools. One thing I love about this challenge is that this is an inclusive challenge. This is for students all across the student body with and without intellectual disabilities coming together and competing and representing their schools," said Peter Hunt. "I'd like to give a shout out to all the great administrators out there who are allowing this challenge to come to their schools and allowing students to compete."
50 District classrooms across 24 schools are participating in the Fitness Challenge, including St. Michael Special School and a group of three to five year olds, under the NOLA-PS local education agency, will be participating in the 2nd Annual Dr. Rosalynne B. Dennis Fitness Challenge. Each school's fitness challenge administrator will devise individualized fitness plans for each child and determine which exercises and challenges best fit into the students' individual education plans, as well as their adaptive physical education programs.
Exercises/challenges could range from jumping jacks, high knee kicks, sit-ups, push-ups, etc. to a bean bag toss and arm strengthening exercises for children who are in wheelchairs.
The Special Olympics Louisiana Unified Champion Schools program is aimed at promoting social inclusion through intentionally planned and implemented activities affecting systems-wide change.
Dr. Rosalynne B. Dennis compassionately served our District for more than 40 years. She made it her life's mission to ensure children with disabilities were provided exceptional educational services, while also promoting initiatives, such as Special Olympics Louisiana, that focused on their health and safety. Alongside her family, we will continue to honor her hard work and dedication through this annual initiative."
As students with disabilities and general education peers work together on social skills, they will forge lifelong relationships. In addition, the challenge will also encourage a healthy lifestyle at school, as well as at home through the introduction of weekly exercises and healthy snacks, while addressing and promoting gross and fine motor skills.
With sports and inclusion as the foundation, Unified Champion Schools offer a unique combination of effective activities that equip young people with tools and training to create sports, classroom and school climates of acceptance. These are school climates where students with disabilities feel welcome and are routinely included in, and feel a part of, all activities, opportunities and functions.
NOLA-PS is grateful for the support and the organization is excited to, once again, partner with us for this annual event.
The fitness challenge will conclude on April 29, 2022, and prizes will be awarded to the participants during the Closing Ceremony on May 6.
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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.
For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.